‘We made a mistake’: Utah House panel approves returning ballot language duties to nonpartisan attorneys

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah House committee gave unanimous approval Friday to a high-profile proposal that would strip the job of writing language for ballot initiatives from legislative leaders and return it to nonpartisan attorneys.

In a rare move, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, sponsored HB563 himself. During a hearing Friday morning, Schultz said his bill would put things back the way they were. Under the bill, the legislative general counsel would draft the language describing ballot questions and proposed constitutional amendments that voters see on the ballot.

“We made a mistake in changing that last year,” Schultz told reporters this week while discussing his bill.

The House speaker echoed that in his comments during Friday’s hearing of the House Government Operations Committee.

“This change – the change that was made last year – was probably not the right way for this,” Schultz said.

Indeed, the language for Amendment D in 2024 – which was written by Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams – was struck down by the Utah Supreme Court last year. The amendment proposed changes to the voter-led initiative process, including specifying that the Legislature can alter any initiatives after they are passed.

But the court found Amendment D’s language did “not submit the amendment to voters ‘with such clarity as to enable the voters to express their will.’”

Even though HB563 returns the drafting of ballot language to legislative attorneys, it also states that those attorneys perform their duties “as counsel for the presiding officers,” meaning the House speaker and Senate president.

However, Schultz told reporters this week, this does not mean he or Adams will put their thumbs on the scale.

“We’re not going to be able to control what’s said,” Schultz said.

Nobody from the public spoke against the bill in Friday’s committee hearing. Several people spoke in favor. House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, pointed out Schultz’s bill is identical to one she and another Democrat proposed previously.

Still, Romero expressed support for Schultz’s bill.

“I think it’s really important that it’s a neutral person drafting the language for that,” Romero said.

HB563 now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote with one week left in the legislative session.